Michael Photios, the Tigers and the wrath of angry client Benny Elias

Kate McClymont and Leesha McKenny

An artist's impression of the Balmain Tigers' development from 2010. Photo: Simon Alekna

Prominent Liberal powerbroker and lobbyist Michael Photios knows only too well the wrath of an unappreciative client.

Take the angry emails from rugby league legend Benny Elias to Mr Photios about his failure to smooth the way for high-rise development on the spiritual home of the Balmain Tigers in Rozelle.

"The ONE aspect of this development that we have always insisted on was the support for the traffic which you always said you could take care of as lobbyist," fumed Mr Elias via email to Mr Photios in early 2013. "WE ARE STILL WAITING."

An amended version of an artist's impression with the buildings reduced to 24 storeys. Photo: Supplied

Then there is the blunt assessment by Elias' former business partner Ian Wright.

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"He offers the world and delivers an atlas," Mr Wright said of Mr Photios. "A small atlas."

Mr Photios' firm PremierState was hired in mid-2011 at the urging of controversial Liberal figure Nick Di Girolamo, soon after his appointment to the board of Balmain Leagues Club.

The site today. Photo: Simon Alekna

Mr Photios was already on Mr Di Girolamo's payroll as a lobbyist for the now notorious Australian Water Holdings, which was the subject of a recent corruption inquiry.

It is understood that although PremierState was billing Balmain Leagues Club $16,500 per month, the club was, in turn, billing developer Rozelle Village the same amount in "consultancy" fees.

"Michael Photios thought it was better that he wasn't lobbying for a developer, he was lobbying for a 108-year-old club," Mr Wright said.

Development dispute: Michael Photios. Photo: Simon Alekna

At the time PremierState was hired, Rozelle Village was a joint venture between Elias and Mr Wright, a Double Bay real estate agent. In 2009, Rozelle Village had bought the financially embattled club's headquarters for $1 in return for taking over its $23.5 million debts. A new clubhouse was part of their ambitious redevelopment proposal, which included two multi-storey apartment blocks.

At one stage, the money being spent on Mr Photios' firm looked to be working. Mr Photios, a close factional ally of Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian, emailed the club saying "we have some useful intel to share with you and importantly, a perspective on the approach to the DoP [Department of Planning] before lodgement."

One of PremierState's assets appeared to be a very useful contact in the Planning Department: Mr Photios' good friend and fellow Liberal Matt Daniel.

Benny Elias. Photo: Simon Alekna

A 2011 document refers to Mr Daniel dining with Mr Photios the night before he met his Balmain/Rozelle Village clients.

"Have talked to Matt about it, and am workshopping ways forward," said PremierState's Dominic Kelly in a 2012 email to the developers.

Mr Kelly told Fairfax Media that while he knew Mr Daniel through the Liberal Party, "this is a project that went through the proper process and was rightfully rejected. And that was that."

The Balmain Tigers.

When asked if he had had any meetings or calls with Mr Daniel either outside his office or without the proponents, Mr Kelly replied: "I just don’t know if I can comment on that."

For his part, Mr Daniel, who was bankrupted over failed property developments while working in the Planning Department, denied doing any special favours for his friends.

"Michael wouldn't use a friendship we had in the past to advance a business interest with me. No way ... He's more professional than that," he said.

Mr Daniel, who headed the department's project delivery unit, said it was his job to be the "first point of call" for applicants navigating major projects through the planning process.

"It is not surprising that a number of these were controversial," he said.

But Mr Daniel said as Rozelle Village's plans went on public exhibition, required additional studies and battled community opposition, tensions rose – prompting him to ask the department's then director-general Sam Haddad "if he could just keep me away from it".

“It just got to the stage where it got so hot after a while, there was so much stuff going on with this silly project, that I backed away from it,” Mr Daniel said.

In the end, all that money paid to Mr Photios – at least $150,000, according to documents seen by Fairfax Media – did not seem to work.

In April this year, the Planning Assessment Commission deemed the traffic problems associated with Rozelle Village so "unresolvable" it rejected the development as not in the public interest.

Elias notified the club's accountants at the end of 2012 that there would be no more invoices because Mr Photios was "embarrassed by the results" and "that he wouldn't charge us any longer".

"He stated that he would see this through to a favourable result," the email said.

A month after that email, Mr Photios told Fairfax Media that he had been employed by the club in 2011 for strategic advice, although he had more recently been engaged on an "occasional and pro bono" basis.

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